Lex stared out over the landscape from her perch in the helicopter. She breathed deeply of the humid air tinged with the smell of the outdoors. Lex always loved the smell of outside. It was one of the reasons she and her father got along. He had always wanted boys and ended up with 4 girls. Lex was the 2nd child and the only 'boy' her father had. She knew how to hunt, fish, and shoot by the time she was 9. All through high school her father was afraid he had "turned" her gay. When he found out she had been dating Michael, one of the wide receivers from the football team, he was less than thrilled, but happy he hadn't confused her gender. Lex smiled to herself as the helicopter dove towards the earth. She had joined the Army and through a special program called Female Units Key Rangers (or the FUcKeRs as they called themselves or the FUcK program) she became one of the first Female Green Berets. She took a lot of slack, but she never deviated from the principles she was taught. As such she was one of the few women who was respected with the title.
So how did she end up on a game show? Well she spent 20 years in the military and retired. The politics and the bullshit got to her. She earned enough on retirement that if she didn't go crazy she didn't have to work a day in her life. Which meant going back home and taking care of her mom and dad, hunting, and fishing. It was her dad who found an ad for a new elite Survivor series. One where it wasn't staged and all drama, but one where military men and women would compete in small units to survive the wilderness and take out the other men and women in their various units. It was right up Lex's alley. She submitted a tape showing her agility, quickness, and other skills and was contacted shortly with more information on the show, what to expect, and to sign a waiver in case she died.
Lex turned and looked at her team. She had made a contract with the show that they could not divulge the information she was Alexis Stone. Though she had a feeling her teammates suspected it was her. It wasn't often a female goes through the 'scandal' of being a female green beret, deployed on combat missions with actual combat, and is the only black female to do so. Still, she wasn't going to say anything and didn't want the extra pressure that came with people's knowledge of that information. Besides she hadn't heard of any of them before except from their dossier. There was Michael Bricks -- Marine -- 35 expert shot and could run 10 miles without losing his breath. He was fast, smart, and always had that hard look in his eyes. His skin was tan from being outdoors with black hair and sharp blue eyes she knew he could come across as looking like death himself. She didn't seem to be the only one to think that as she caught Katherine (or Kat) Boothe -- Air Force -- 32 cringe slightly away from his stare.
Kat didn't look like she had ever served a day in the military. She looked like a model with natural blond hair, blue eyes, and an ample D size chest that had to be a problem when she was shooting an automatic rifle. But according to her dossier she was also an expert shot and liked to 'blow things up'. That was it. Nothing more to add on that fact. Then there was Paul Haines -- Army - 34. He had the natural face that was easily forgettable. His features didn't stand out nor was recognizable which made him the perfect in-and-out guy. Get in close, get the Intel, and get out. Which is exactly what he trained for. He too was an expert shot, but according to his dossier also a sniper. Lex smiled. Apparently they all were expert shots, but Lex preferred hand to hand combat. Knives were her specialty. As she looked at her own dossier Alexis Grace (her middle name) -- 33 -- Army Reserve (also true) caramel black skin tone, brown hair naturally highlighted with a red tinge from the sun prefers hand to hand combat. Very little else was on there about her.
"Okay. I'm going to set you down with your gear. You have 30 minutes to get your asses out of the area after that the games begin. Good luck," the pilot said.
"Thanks," Lex said as she began getting her things together. Once they touched down she grabbed what belonged to her and waited for the others. As one they unstrapped their side arms and began the trek into the jungle.
The guns, as with all their guns, were paintball. If you ever played paintball those fuckers hurt when you were hit and in this heavy terrain people weren't wearing heavy gear to protect yourself from the pain. Once hit with a paintball your team lost a point and the team that hit you gained a point. Also the person who was hit was indisposed until the end of the round. The team with the most points won. That was the simplest explanation of the game. It was basically a war game which they were all familiar with.
Michael held his fist up signaling them all to come to a halt. "I was thinking," he said. "Do they drop us all here in the same spot?" No one said anything. "If we were the first team dropped off what would you do?"
"Set up an ambush somewhere for some easy points," Paul said without hesitation.
"What would be the smartest route or place to set up," Kat asked.
Lex looked back from where they had traveled. "We chose this way. Why? We did it subconsciously, but something must have triggered our minds to go this way."
Kat paused. "It's the way the terrain was laid. The trees around are higher and the brush was thicker. This route was almost cut down and the thinnest. Like a road leading out. Even now the land we're traveling on is flat and easier to walk through than the brush on either side of us. It looks natural, but if you were given 30 minutes to set up an ambush could you pull it off?"
Everyone stared at Kat. That was actually quite brilliant what she said. "I'm a soldier. Trained just like you all were and with an IQ of 123. I could have gone any route with my education, but I like explosives and fire and I like to test them out. So I joined the Air Force, the only force, that looked passed my breasts and at my intelligence. I will be an asset to this team."
"We didn't mean," Paul started.
"Yes, you did. It's okay. It's easier to get it out of the way now then have to "prove" myself later."
"Where does this road lead," Lex asked. "If they designed this path for a quick welcome-to-the-jungle round than let's give them a don't-fuck-with-us counter."
Lex's team smiled. Michael scouted ahead as Lex, Paul, and Kat came up with a plan. The simplest form of attack was to wait until your prey came into the middle of your trap and then hit them from all sides. What they would need was to have some bait and the others would have to ambush the ambushers sort to speak. But how could they do that without losing a point?
Michael came jogging back. "This path leads to a clear area. No trees, no terrain, just an open field. I bet they're hiding in the trees waiting for the first group to walk out. All we need is someone to set off their fire and the rest can determine where they are aiming from and get payback." The group stared at Michael. "Wait. Me?"
"You're the fastest," said Kat.
"And you already had a look at the terrain," said Paul.
"Plus. We got your back. Don't get hit and we'll get the others. If there are others."
Michael nodded. He gave most of his gear to his team to handle and had just a pack on his back. They began the trek towards the clearing. Michael gave a small signal and the team fanned out; Kat and Paul going to the left, Lex to the right.
